Heathrow Express has announced that their rail service has been preserved until 2028 at least under a new agreement.
Heathrow Express, or HEx for short, will keep the commercial aspects of the train service, including marketing, ticket pricing, revenue, whilst Great Western Railway will run the operational aspects of the services.
As a result, the new Heathrow Express Langley depot is no longer needed. The depot would have been required to service trains because the HS2 building requires HEx to vacate the Old Oak Common depot by the end of 2019.
Heathrow Airport will continue to own the HEx service and will be managing the rail stations at the airport.
GWR will now manage the introduction of the new fleet of trains for the Heathrow Express service, which will be specially converted by December 2019 to provide first-class carriages, additional luggage racks and more. Until then, Heathrow Express will continue to be provided by the existing fleet of trains.
What did the officials say?
Rail Minister Jo Johnson said:
“We are investing in the biggest modernisation of the UK rail network since Victorian times and improving the provision and frequency of rail services to Heathrow is crucial to our plans.
“New western and southern rail links to Heathrow would make getting to the airport quicker and easier for holidaymakers and business travellers across the south west, south Wales and south of England, as well as helping connect UK exporters to new international markets.”
Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye said:
“This agreement secures convenient and reliable public transport journeys to Heathrow in this decade and beyond. We have ambitious plans to transform rail journeys into the airport, and our passengers will reap the benefits of having Heathrow at the heart of an integrated, sustainable transport network.”
FirstGroup Chief Executive Tim O'Toole said:
“Today's agreement demonstrates the transport industry working in partnership for the benefit of passengers, allowing fast and convenient connections to continue on this crucial airport link. We are an experienced rail operator with a strong track record in delivering customer improvements, and through this management contract we look forward to building on this operational expertise, as we work with Heathrow to bring in a dedicated fleet of high-specification trains that will help keep people moving and communities prospering in the future.”
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That would mean Class 332’s will be replaced by the Class 387’s and are likely to be cascaded to Northern. 15 Class 387’s are to be used for Heathrow Express services whilst GWR will retain 30 Class 387’s for Paddington to Reading, Didcot Parkway, Newbury and Maidenhead Commuter services. Plus 6 Class 387/3’s are also to be transferred from c2c when the Class 711’s enters service in 2021 or earlier.